EU Next for SolarWorld Anti-Dumping Tariff Efforts

Eric Wesoff is Editor-at-Large at Greentech Media. Prior to joining GTM, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields.

His expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.

How this plays out and the impact on the American solar market is an experiment we are currently conducting. "American" manufacturing firms like SolarWorld will likely be bolstered, but increased module prices could inhibit market growth and downstream employment in the installer, construction, and developer trades.

This experiment might soon be taking place in the European Union, as well. According to an article in Bloomberg, SolarWorld anticipates an anti-dumping case against Chinese competitors in Europe this month. The case might be initiated by the European Commission rather than by SolarWorld.

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) issued a statement regarding the U.S. decision which would indicate that the organization is not going to take sides in the dispute. The group said, "At a time when the global solar industry is weathering a period of economic uncertainty and consolidation, it will be crucial for all players in this conflict to find common ground and allow our technology to accelerate the momentum that has made it already a mainstream energy source."

"However, there are usually no ultimate winners in a trade war. In a globalized world, trade actions can have many consequences across borders and along value chains."

An article in Recharge News has Frank Asbeck, CEO of SolarWorld (pictured), saying he is "confident" that legal action will be initiated from the German government or the European Commission this month.

Germany looks like it will be entering the same experiment being conducted in the U.S., albeit with an even larger downstream solar work force in potential jeopardy and a larger fleet of insolvent solar companies desperate for Chinese investment and acquisition.